The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-15
RAIDING THE sPOOKS.
A Muscular Ghost Attacks His Would
be Captor-TheS Spirits Run to Cover


be Captor-TheSp Spirits Run to cover.
From the Boston Post.
The blow of exposure has fallen on another
Undertaking. medium, the victim this time
being Mrs. Fairchild, who holds seeances
at No. 35 East Chester Park Mrs. Fair
child has been doing thriving business IN
Boston for some months. The recent RAID
on Mrs. Ross establishment at 30 west Con
cord street is still fresh in the public mind,
and the little band of investigators, having
let the light into her cabinet, determined to
direct the rays of the same lantern into that
of Mrs. Fairchild Yesterday afternoon a
reporter called at the house at the appointed
hour for the sceance, and was met at the
door by lady and gentleman, who, 1t
afterwards TRANSFERRED, were Mrs. Falrchlld
and Mr.. Sawyer.
''Are you a spiritualistr asked the lady.
While the answer was not strictly in the af-
| firmative, it was evidently satisfactory, for
she replied: "Well, all | ask is that you will
do nothing to disturb the naturalization"
| On being assured that nothing of the kind
would be done, the lady showed the visitor
to a seat in the parlor. The room is some
81 feet long by about II feet wide. and fronts
to the north. The floor is handsomely car
peted, and the walls are hung with pictures.
The cabinet is situated in the rear of the
room, and is made of heavy curtains that
part in the middle. From this cabinet
door opened into the back room as well as
| the side entry, through one Of which the
spirits evidently enter The parlor was
dimly lighted by one gas jet, inclosed in
| glass globe, coated with dark paint. just
before the seance began Mrs. Fairchild,
dressed in Mother Hubbard gown of hello
| trope-colored silk, stepped into the middle of
the room and appealed to the honor
of those present not to disturb the
seance. The solitary gas jet was
turned still lower, SO low in fact that only
the vague outlines of those in the room could
be seen. The indispensable parlor organ
was called into requisition and struck up
funeral air that was intended to add to the
solemnity of the occasion. In moment
the music ceased, and voice that sounded
like the utterance of plantation negro came
from the dark recesses of the cabinet. Use
Black Hawk, / isl it said and then was
silent The organ grOaned again with its
burden of sombre music, and again the al
legged spirit of Black Hawk made its presence
known. 1t is well that it announced itself,
for the nearest relative of Black Hawk never
would have recognized it; and if anything
would cause the famous Indian chief to APP
pear, this libel on his voice would do it. He
was satisfied, however, to be heard and not
seen. Another groan from the organ was
the cue from a pair of forms, robed, of
course, in the full dress of spirits, to appear
for a moment in front of the cabinet. They
soon vanished, and one, evidently a female
ghost, came out and stood at the en-
trance of the cabinet. Mrs. Fairchild, who
was the medium, approached an old white
haired gentleman and said: "She wants to
speak to YOU" The old man rose and tot
tered to the white figure A deathlike 81
lence prevailed, in order to hear what they
said, if possible, but not a whisper could be
detected The bent form tottered back to
htc Int no ltTrhf l,it
chief could be seen in the old mans hand,
apparently wiping away the tears that had
been caused to flow by his supposed commu-
nication with the dead
More music, and the medium advanced to
the Mr.. Sawyer above mentioned, who oc-
cupied a seat next to that of the reporter
''She wants you" Mr. Sawyer slowly and
solemnly approached the awful presence
In moment he returned to his seat, and,
leaning over, said to the reporter in a voice
that had more of a sigh than an articulate
sound in it: THAT is my wife; she's been in
the spirit world four years. The next per-
son called was the old man that was first
| favored. The spirit, which was that of a
woman, was evidently willing to do the
square thing, and as the aged believer had
gone to it the first time, it approached him
and took seat by his side, where it re-
manned in silence for minute or two. The
spirits seemed to have some fears of the
strangers in the room, and Mr. Sawyer's
presence was for the second time desired by
the ghost.
When he resumed bis seat he said, with
sigh: That's my niece; she's been dead for
many years" He went on: Mrs Fairchild
is splendid medium, and calls the turn
every time.n
The moment had arrived for the begin
ming of the end. A lady named Mrs. Torrey,
who was in the audience, was summoned to
the cabinet by what appeared to be female
form. Being possessed of more than ordi-
nary courage, this lady seized the spirit
around the waist and held it firmly, calling
out: Come onm She was mistaken in the
sex, for instead of female spirit the 'spookn
turned out to be a muscular young
man of 16 or IL years of age, at
tired in shirt, trousers and socks,
and enveloped in an old lace curtain With
quick movement he freed himself from
his would-be captor and struck her a vicious
blow on the side of the head which nearly
threw her to the floor. Mrs. Torrey, how
ever, did not release her hold on the spectral
garments, and carried away nearly q yard
of the curtain material Then the battle
began. The young man, finding himself
| free, started out of the room and ran up
stairs. But this was not all. Out from the
cabinet there rushed another young man
and girl, who followed with marvellous
rapidity their fellow ''spook" up the stairs
Meanwhile the audience began to get in
| some work. The lights We're turned up, and
the blinds thrown open. The parlor became a
pretty lively place, for everybody seemed
to be yelling at the same time. One gentle
man followed the retreating spirits up stairs
and saw them disappear in a room the door
of which was quickly bolted. He asked to
be admitted in order to further pursue the
| ghosts, but was told that there was case
| of typhoid fever in the room, and the
patient could not be disturbed Meanwhile
Mrs. Fairchild, who tips the scales at 800
pounds, was making day" hideous down
stairs. She was beside herself with rage.
and declared that she had been betrayed.
| But by whom! No one seemed to know
| anything about it. ut was a villainous out
rage" she screamed, 'to come into a
private house and disturb private seance."
"Ies it is" chimed in the old man, who was
| evidently a confederate. Mr.. Sawyer, who
had seen both his wife and niece, Joined in
the TRADE against the intruders who had
broken up the show and deprived the house
of about SO, which would have been col
lected if there been no disturbance. Mrs.
Fairchild even went so far as to strike Mrs.
TORY in the face, laying all the blame of
! the exposure to her, and enforcing her
remarks by some pretty strong language.
Another confederate, whose name was not